A Mermaid's Kiss (Bay State University #1) - Katie Holland Page 0,35

hoped that she’d still treat me the same. I hated people who treated me different when they learned about my family.

* * *

The funeral for my grandpa wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Mom had had a few days to grieve, so she was mostly back to normal. When we were done at the gravesite we all headed back to grandma’s house for food. We stayed for a while then I told my mom I had studying to do. I said goodbye to my parents and grandma then we left.

On the way back to Bay State we stopped by Bodie’s cousin's house so he could hook us up. It had been a stressful day and I needed to unwind. He gave us a couple of joints and we headed back to campus. We sat in the truck and smoked one of them. I didn’t do it all the time, but it was something that always relaxed me and cleared my mind.

I was in a much better mood when we went up to our room. I heard my phone alert me to a text. I was hoping it might be Kayleigh, but it was Chad telling us about a party at one of the frat houses. That sounded like a great idea so we both changed and headed over to meet them.

On the way, I texted Kayleigh. I wondered how her swim thing went.

Me: Sorry I couldn’t make it to your competition. I had a family thing. How did you do?

Kayleigh: That’s ok. I won five of my events

Me: Wow. How many were you in?

Kayleigh: Nine

Me: Holy shit that’s a lot. No wonder you practice so much.

Me: What are you doing?

Kayleigh: Karma dragged me to another party to “celebrate”

Me: Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do

Kayleigh: You don’t have to worry about that. Lol!

I put my phone in my pocket and walked into the party. The music was loud and there were people everywhere. We found Zach and Chad and got a drink. I looked around the room. There were a lot of possible candidates for the chick of the night. I was pretty sure I was behind on our bet, and there were only five days left in the month. I needed to step it up.

I started making my rounds, when I spotted Kayleigh and I laughed to myself. It was like fate was trying to tell me something. I’m sure there were plenty of parties happening all over campus and we ended up at the same one … again.

I watched her for a minute. She was wearing really tight skinny jeans and one of those shirts that did up around her neck. But my favorite part of her outfit was her boots. They were a shiny black that went up almost to her knees and had pointy high heels on them. She hadn’t noticed me since she was talking to some guy, so I decided to have a little fun with her.

Me: I’d love to see you wearing nothing but the boots you have on

I saw her get her phone out of her pocket and I could tell the instant she read my text. Even from across the room I could see her blush. Then she started looking around. I ducked into the hallway and waited for her to text me back.

Kayleigh: Where are you?

Me: Closer than you think

Kayleigh: Stalking me again?

Me: Nope, just lucky

Kayleigh: Whatever

Me: I haven’t got your naughty text yet today

Kayleigh: Show yourself and maybe I’ll say it to you in person

I laughed. She was getting brave or she had been drinking.

Me: Are you drunk?

Kayleigh: I never drink

Me: I know you’re not 21 but it’s college. You should give it a try.

Kayleigh: I don’t drink because of my parents

I felt like an asshole. I immediately tossed out my drink and went over to her. Whoever she’d been talking to had left. She was staring at her phone when I walked up beside her.

“I’m sorry,” I said, startling her.

“Jesus Major, give a girl some warning. Although you get an A+ for the stalker technique.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What are you sorry for?” she asked.

“I didn’t think about you not drinking because of your parents. I just figured you were being a stick in the mud again,” I said smiling.

“A stick in the mud? Really? Are you calling me boring?”

“You are anything but boring. I never know what you’re going to do or say.”

“Good. Someone has to keep you on your toes. And don’t